


Chapter V: The Gnashing of Teeth, Part 2

by SallySS



Series: Love Trunk [6]
Category: Claymore
Genre: Bisexuality, Blood, Body Horror, Explicit Language, F/F, Gore, Homosexuality, Verbal Abuse, Vomiting, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 22:13:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8507404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SallySS/pseuds/SallySS
Summary: Excerpts from the daily life of Rona, a new addition to the warriors known as Claymore, led by the mysterious Organization. Follow her through her struggles and triumphs as she fights to survive against the flesh craved yoma and awakened beings.
- Returning home is not going to be as simple as it seems.





	

Rona left the bakery with a stomach fit to burst, trying to work bits of cranberry from her teeth, making weird faces as her tongue attempted to pry the gooey bits from their stronghold. She got the usual stunned reaction from the townspeople as she passed through, the hushed murmurs barely audible, but undeniably present. The reactions were fairly typical, but Rona noticed that none of the townspeople were looking her way, instead gathering towards the other end of town. She took a shortcut above the crowd by hopping up on the rooftops and hurrying to see what was so important, freezing as she caught a glimpse of two other warriors strolling into town. She knew these warriors, the numbers 1 and 2 had quite the reputation amongst the organization; Undertaker Stephanie and Stella the Protector. They were polar opposites, Stephanie had a permanent scowl, an intense glare affixed in her eyes, and an all-over sullen demeanor plastered on her thin sharp face. Stella, however, had a bounce in her step. Her features were soft and angelic, almost seeming to radiate light with her gentle smile on a plump cherub-like face.   
  
Stella cleared her throat, announcing to the townspeople that they should evacuate the town for the time being to reduce casualties, but to do so in an orderly manner. Rona tilted her head, she had felt no presence of yoma in the town, and her handler told her that all the jobs were too far away. She jumped down in front of the crowd, startling a few people at her sudden appearance, and they scurried back like cockroaches. Stella perked up, “Well, there’s the other warrior we felt-” Stephanie had cut her off before she could say any more, “If she gets in the way I’m letting her die.” She drew her weapon as the three of them walked towards each other.   
  
Rona raised her hands in a  _ ‘what gives’  _ motion. “Why are you telling these people to evacuate? I’ve been here for hours and I’ve felt no trace of yoma.”   
  
Stephanie sneered, “Better scurry out along with the humans, low level like you would just be a pain in my ass.”   
  
Rona scoffed, “Excuse me? I’m not-”   
  
“If you can’t even feel it here, then you’re going to die before you can even draw your sword. Just fucking leave.” The broody warrior barked at her.   
  
Stella stepped in to add a word, “It would help us greatly if you could protect the people as they evacuate. The ravenous eater may strike out at the group of them.”   
  
Rona’s eyes went wide, “Ravenous eater, that’s what you’re here for… No way are you keeping me out of this fight.” She grinned devilishly. Her handler must have thought her unprepared for such a task, but regular yoma were simple enough to hack and slash.   
  
Stephanie began walking towards her, “That’s it, i’m cutting her down now so she doesn’t get in the way.”   
  
Rona jumped at the statement, drawing her sword to defend, “What the hell is your problem?!” her heart was in her throat, knowing she didn’t have a chance if the highest ranking warrior was determined to strike her down.   
  
Stephanie raised her sword over her head but then stopped dead in her tracks, her muscles shaking with effort, “Stella, let me go or you’ll regret it!”    
  
Rona relaxed slightly but looked between the two warriors; Stella hadn’t moved an inch, and yet Stephanie seemed to be utterly paralyzed. Is this the kind of power the single digits had?   
  
“We have enemies to fight, not each other. You are a strong enough warrior to not be affected by her presence, we both know this. Focus on your task at hand.” Stella softly scolded, releasing the other from the bodily control.   
  
_ ‘Names well earned’  _ Rona thought, letting out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “I can go help the people to evacuate, but when they’re safe I’ll come back to help fight.”   
  
“Don’t bother, it’ll be dead by the time you get back.” Stephanie turned her back on the unfamiliar warrior and began to talk to Stella about their plan of attack.   
  
Rona bit her tongue and went to supervise the evacuation effort. There was no way a ravenous eater could be here; the town hadn’t sent for a claymore and Rona had felt nothing the whole time she was present. However, she also didn’t feel the warriors approaching, maybe they could hide better than she thought.   
  
Silver eyes scanning the crowd, Rona was surprised the yoma hadn’t come out of hiding yet, letting all its food leave right in front of it; if there even was a yoma, that is. She saw a man in the alleyway, staring at the two superior warriors insteading of leaving. “Hey you, it’s time to leave, we don’t want anyone hurt.” The man clearly wasn’t paying attention as he didn’t even turn towards Rona. She growled in frustration as she marched over to him, “Hey, are you deaf? I said it’s not safe here!” She grabbed the man from behind by the shoulder and suddenly the stranger’s head snapped to attention with inhuman speed, facing her eye to eye. Rona immediately went to grab her sword but the yoma was lightning quick, skewering her with a spindly spider-like leg that shot out of his abdomen, piercing Rona through the chest, puncturing her lung. After that, it didn’t take more than a few seconds for the beast to transform, and as it grew in size it drew the attention of the townspeople who began to flee for their lives. The human facade had bent backwards, the rest of the needle-like appendages shooting up into the air before bending up above, stabbing into the ground and raising the body in the air like a ragdoll. The flesh of the human body it had hid as rained down in ribbons as the body of the yoma appeared, its back was covered in one large piece of armor that looked unpierceable, the tail of a scorpion, and arms like those of a mantis, sharpened like butcher’s blades and poised to strike. The monster was massive, taller than most of the buildings in the town and Rona was still stuck, punctured through and dangling off one of the monster’s legs.   
  
Stephanie found this quite comedic and let out a boisterous laugh, “I told you she would die before she could even draw her sword!”   
  
After that, Rona had lost all sense of direction, the ravenous eater was moving so fast she couldn’t even process the blur of color that was the landscape. The only things she could make out was ringing coming from the clashing of blades, and the violent jostling that was causing her wound to grow and intensifying her pain. She steadied herself with one hand against the beast, fighting the urge to vomit, her other hand grasping at the air behind her, looking for her sword. It was absent it’s scabbard, most likely having fallen out when she was risen up in the air over a hundred feet. Rona cursed but knew she had to get free, and she could feel her lungs filling with blood as she tried to focus. The legs were sturdy, feeling almost like the metal of their claymore swords, she was going to need a lot of power to break through. She allowed the yoki to trickle through her veins, eyes intensifying into a glinting gold and her face began to contort, teeth becoming razor sharp. She could feel her muscles beginning to writhe and grow, the power in them rising exponentially. Just when she felt she might lose control, she pulled her fist back and slammed it into the leg that was staking her through, with all the force she had. The snapping noise was like a crack of thunder, but the leg was unaffected; instead Rona could feel the bones in her arm simply in pieces, the pain excruciating and making her cry out through the bloody spittle that occupied her airway. The monster had lurched to a stop then, it had only been a few moments, but to Rona it was like an eternity being pinned to the beast. Stella had synced their yoki and brought the mighty yoma to a screeching halt. Stephanie saw the opening and wasted no time in delivering her fatal blow, launching herself up in the air high above the yoma and coming down with such tremendous speed and power that the monster’s body completely separated from the legs and slammed deep into the ground, seemingly having dug its own grave. The slender legs didn’t stand up straight very long, they teetered just a moment before Rona came crashing down with them as they toppled. The back of her head slammed into the solid back armor plate of the yoma and knocked her unconscious, her body going limp.

  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
Rona regained consciousness to the sound of a fire crackling; her head was still pounding, and the smell of rancid blood was overpowering in her nose, but she could breath and her arm was oddly intact. She was void of armor and weapon, but still donned her bloodied and torn garments, though they did little to protect her from the cold stone beneath her. Rona wondered if she were dreaming again, opening her bleary eyes to look about her surroundings. Her location was a shallow cave, and besides the bright fire that illuminated the walls, it was dusk and quickly becoming night. Rona hoisted her torso up slowly, squeezing her eyes shut to get them to lubricate and clear her vision. The fire came into focus gradually and just beyond it’s warm glow was Stella, sitting on her knees with her eyes shut. Rona decided not to disturb her and instead examined her arm that, last she remembered, was in shatters. She gave her muscles an experimental flex and was met with no pain, everything seeming to be in working order. Poking her fingers into the hole in her uniform, she found her puncture wound to be closed without so much as a scar to show she was injured.   
  
“You’re lucky.” Stella broke the silence.   
  
Rona looked over to the other, the stronger warrior’s unwavering position making her look like a religious statue, her unnaturally pale complexion adding to the visage.    
  
“Lucky?” Rona repeated the word, putting her hands on the ground and scooting closer to the fire to warm herself.   
  
Stella opened her eyes, the white scleras seeming to glint like precious gems in the firelight. “Quite; had I not been there to intervene, Stephanie would have let you die.”   
  
“Honestly surprised she didn’t make you leave me there.” Rona huffed a laugh at her own expense. She put her hands close to the flame, letting the heat roll up along her palms. “So I conked out, how did my body get fixed?”   
  
“I made you heal yourself. The same way I can stop Stephanie in her tracks; I manipulate yoki to do what I want. I could manipulate yours to heal you, even though you were not conscious.” Stella seemed pretty proud of herself.   
  
Rona’s mouth hung slightly agape, “Wait so does that mean you can make other warriors awaken if you wanted?” When Stella nodded in confirmation, Rona looked down and let that information sink in. “Thank the Goddesses that  _ you’re _ the nice one. Speaking of…” Rona looked around, hoping she wasn’t going to regret that previous statement.    
  
“Out getting food.” Stella answered. “Stephanie’s really not that bad once she gets to know you, she’s just grouchy because she’s always in pain.” Stella saw Rona was thoroughly confused so she elaborated. “The transformation surgery that implants yoma flesh into our bodies, for her something went ary, her wound hurts just as much as it did on day one, her body will not fully heal. I accompany her so that she can actually get some rest, or I step in and fight if the pain becomes too much, though it’s usually not necessary since she finishes awakened beings off so quickly, like the one today.”   
  
“Awakened? I thought you said it was a voracious eater. Was that not a yoma?” Rona stood up, staggering a bit, “Are you saying that thing used to be one of us? That’s what we turn into?!” Her head was spinning.    
  
“You weren’t told this? Perhaps they never intended for you to fight one. We do not tell humans about the monsters we turn into so they do not fear us more than they already do; it helps keep the peace.” Stella seemed so casual about it.   
  
“You just slaughtered a fellow warrior!” Rona screamed at her, fearing even more that the duo had no reserve and that she was sitting in a death trap.   
  
“One that almost killed you first. When we turn, there is no human side left to us, it is swallowed up and overtaken with the hunger for innards. They feel no comradery or pity for us, they are just yoma at that point.” Stella closed her eyes again. “Now sit and calm yourself, Stephanie has returned.”   
  
Rona looked to the entryway just as Stephanie entered, fruit in hand.    
  
“Oh good, the pain in the ass is awake, aren’t you glad you brought her with?” Stephanie scoffed and tossed Rona something to eat, taking her seat next to her comrade. “Quit giving Stella a hard time or i’ll make sure you can’t recover from your next blow.”   
  
Stella grabbed an apple, biting into it and chewing some before she looked over to Stephanie, “She’s no bother, she simply didn’t know what awakened beings actually were. She’s just a little shocked.”   
  
“That’s why the little brat was so intent on staying to fight? Don’t worry, when you awaken, i’ll make sure your death is quick, not that you’ll be able to fight back against me.” Stephanie chuckled, biting into her pear.   
  
Rona just stood there, looking at the fruit in her hands, not knowing how to feel about this new information. She knew that if you use your powers too much, you can push yourself beyond rational thought and become a yoma, but that thing was no yoma…    
  
“A quick death is all we can hope for when we awaken. Though I won’t mind living without anyone telling me what to do.” Stella poked Stephanie with her elbow in a playful manner and smiled.   
  
Rona looked up, she could feel the cold sweat on her skin and her knees wobbled like they were going to buckle, “That’s what… we all become?”   
  
Stella nodded, “Eventually. Every warrior either dies with their human mind, or they awaken; that is our destiny.”   
  
‘ _ Destiny’,  _ the word echoed in Rona’s ears until it was deafening. She dropped the fruit as she dashed for the entrance, not getting very far outside before her shaking wracked her whole frame and made her collapse to her hand and knees, grabbing the grass in fistfulls as her guts were churning and retching, making her vacate the food she ate earlier that day. Tears streamed down her face as she gasped for breath between her stomach clenching. What had she  _ done _ ? What had she  _**become** _ ?   
  
Stephanie stalked out after her, watching her with an unamused look. “Quit with the theatrics knife ear, we’re all in the same boat.”   
  
Rona shook her head, tears clinging to her cheeks and bile dangling from her lips, “No no no no… there has to be some other way. I can’t turn into one of those things!”   
  
Stephanie folded her arm “Look, your little Adaira is living high on the hog now, but there’s no going back, you’re a warrior now. It’s best to forget they ever existed, and they’ll do the same.”   
  
Rona turned her head back to face the number one, “How… how do you know Adaira?”   
  
“The note in your leather pouch. It wasn’t hidden very well. Does she know what you are? You haven’t even told her, have you? You don’t think she’ll accept you as a mutated freak, so you casually forget to mention it. You’re not the only one to leave people behind; my brother was deathly ill, my family couldn’t afford his treatment, so I took matters into my own hands. I can sleep at night knowing he still lives, even if I can never go and see him again. We all make sacrifices, so don’t piss and moan when the consequences bite you in the ass!” Stephanie gritted her teeth, running her hand along her chest as the wound started to throb and ache.   
  
Rona turned over and sat down, trying to calm her stomach. “You too? But why don’t they tell us what we’ll become? I-I would have never taken the money if I knew this to be the outcome!”    
  
“They want women with something to live for, something that they will fight to achieve. It happened once in the past, they had a girl join of her own free will, and that warrior achieved strength beyond what anyone believed possible. She was listed as Number 47 of her generation, but by her own hand she killed the Number 4, even after that warrior had awakened. The organization didn’t know how she performed such a feat, but it’s said that there were hundreds of missions where her chance of survival was nil, and yet she pulled through; who knows how strong she could have become. That is why they lure us in now, hoping that instead of orphaned girls with no hope, they create a super soldier from our will to live.” Her voice was bitter, it was obvious she felt betrayed, but for once the harshness wasn’t directed at Rona.   
  
“What happened to that warrior?” Rona had never heard of the past generations, but apparently this one warrior in particular made a name for herself.   
  
“No one knows. The organization said she died on a mission, but I have a hard time believing that. Her name was simply Clare, no title or fancy name. Now would you get your ass inside, it’s getting cold. If you freeze out here you’re going to have made Stella do all that work for nothing; you’re not as light as you look.” Stephanie turned and headed back in to feast and warm herself by the fire.    
  
Rona hoisted herself to her feet, turning to go inside, but hesitated a moment, gazing up at the stars in the sky.    
  
“Adaira, I promised I’d to return to you,”   
  
“But now I don’t know if I should...”


End file.
